The invention relates to a device for supplying fodder to animals, such as cows, which has a hopper for fodder and a feeding trough accessible to the animals. A receptacle receives fodder from the hopper via a first conveyor which receptacle is connected to the feeding trough via a second conveyor.
Such a device is known from Dutch Patent Application No. 1010898 of van den Berg which was published Jun. 27, 2000. Although this known device delivers fodder to the trough, in practice to guarantee proper sanitary conditions of the device, it must be cleaned on a regular basis which takes much time, entails costs, and the device cannot be used during cleaning.
It is an object of the invention to obviate the drawbacks related to the cleaning at least partially.
For this purpose a device for supplying fodder to animals of the above-described type according to the invention comprises the introduction of edible separating material into the system, the edible separating material being a material that at least substantially does not adhere to components of the device. The invention is based on the insight that, in particular when there is supplied rather wet or sticky fodder by the known device, parts of the fodder remain on components of the device, such as the receptacle which receives the fodder or the conveying means, and contaminate them, so that regular cleaning of the device is necessary. By first wrapping up the fodder, according to the invention, in at least substantially non-sticky, edible separating material, contamination of the device is considerably reduced, and the frequency that cleaning is required is drastically reduced.
It is in particular advantageous when the edible separating material is constituted by an amount of dry fodder, corn, for example. However, the edible separating material is preferably constituted by grass.
An embodiment of a device according to the invention is characterized in that a receptacle for receiving the fodder is provided with a weighing device for measuring fodder present in the receptacle, and by means of said weighing device it is possible to establish the amount of fodder that can be supplied to the feeding trough via a second conveyor.
In a preferred embodiment the second conveyor is a fall pipe or a fall chute. In this case, the receptacle is located above the feeding trough. Consequently, there is no separate drive mechanism required for conveying the fodder, because gravity causes the fodder to flow to the feeding trough.
Although the fodder can be taken out of the receptacle by means of a separate removal device, for the sake of simplicity, it is advantageous that a separate device not be provided for removal purposes. A tiltable receptacle may be used whereby fodder falls from said receptacle after it has been tilted. However, for improving the hygienic use of the device, the receptacle has preferably a bottom which is adapted to be opened and is preferably provided with a control means for controlling the opening of the bottom.
An extremely hygienic use of the device according to the invention is obtained when the receptacle has such a shape that, when a package of fodder and edible separating material falls through the bottom, the edible separating material surrounds the fodder at least partially. In this situation there may be, in particular receptacles that narrow in downward directions.
A device according to the invention can be applied inter alia to troughs in milking compartments having milking robots. However, the invention is in particular advantageous when the device is constituted by a feeding column, in which situation several animals can use the device at the same time. For that purpose the feeding column is provided in a manner known per se with various feeding troughs disposed side by side for example.
A compact device is obtained when the feeding column is provided with a framework located around the central axis, to which framework or at least substantially to such framework, the feeding troughs and hoppers are fitted.
A preferred embodiment of a device according to the invention is characterized in that the device is provided with identification means for identifying individual animals, so that the device can function automatically. For feeding animals by means of the device, an individual animal is identified, after which the fodder is composed with the aid of a metering device from ingredients originating from one or more hoppers, according to the nutritive need of the individual animal, and the fodder is supplied to the feeding trough via the receptacle and the conveying means. By means of the weighing device the amount of fodder can be adjusted to the nutritive needs of the individual animal. In this situation the control means preferably controls the functioning of the relevant components of the device.
A preferred embodiment of a device according to the invention is characterized in that the device comprises various hoppers, each for containing stock of a particular kind of fodder, and in that the device is provided with a control means, said control means comprising a memory with a correspondence table with values that relate to the adhesiveness factor of various types of fodder, the control means controlling the device in such a manner that the various types of fodder are supplied to the receptacle in the order of increasing adhesiveness factor. Thus, with the aid of the control means the least adhesive fodder is supplied to the receptacle first. The device according to the invention has the additional advantage of enabling the wrapping of the fodder with minerals or medicines or both. These are preferably added last to the fodder, so that the medicines or minerals or both stick to the most adhesive fodder and will be delivered at a high degree of certainty into the feeding trough where they can be consumed by the animal.